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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- Join us on our Nordhavn 52 Dirona as we travel from Amsterdam to Antwerp through the Netherlands canals and inland waterways on the Standing Mast Route. This is a route that sailboats can travel with their masts up as no non-opening, low bridges are en route. On the 137-mile run, we passed through 48 bridges, 6 locks, touched bottom twice and moored in the historic towns of Haarlem and Leiden.
You can read more about our travels at mvdirona.com. And for details in this particular trip, see mvdirona.com/T....
At the beginning when leaving the marina was some well executed maneuvering. And the map of your journey so far is what I dream of doing. What a life you live thanks from the UK
Thanks for the feedback on the video from the UK. We just landed this morning in Ramsgate and will be spending some time in the UK over the next couple of months.
Thank you for posting such a detailed video, we went most of the same route a couple of times in the 70's in our family sailboat , mast up! thanks for taking the time to get some interesting back story of what you were passing. The wet and windy weather must have been quite challenging at times . thank goodness for Nordhaven's hydraulic thrusters. we of course had nothing like that with our 8 hp sabb marine diesel. cheers warren.
Yes, you are right the winds at times added a bit of challenge. In the video the winds looked fairly light to me but there were times when wind was an annoying factor. But we had it easy compared to your trip with an 8hp main engine and no thrusters.
Good balance between travelogue and seamanship. Such a maze of locks, bridges and inland waterways.
Yes, it's a very different sort of cruising for us but we loved it and would love to do more river and canal cruising.
Amazing video. Getting out of that first marina really took a lot of skill. Thanks for all of your fantastic videos.
Thanks for the feedback on the videos.
Very enjoyable commentary. Thoroughly entertaining video.
Thanks for the feedback on the video.
Brilliant video, and i love the narration. I really look forward to your vlogs. Thanks again for the effort.
Thanks!
Thanks for the ride you guys.
Thanks for the feedback Robin.
Lovely trip. Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks for the feedback.
I used to work on a river passenger cruise ship one year ago so this brings back memories. Nice video and enjoyable trip. Thumbs up!
I'll bet. But we can get into smaller places :-).
Truly enjoyed it. Wonderful!
Thanks for the feedback!
Yes, I think there is a very good chance we will return to adventuring by boat. We were originally intending to keep the Dirona during this land based period but I'm busy and we found we weren't using it much and we ended up not enjoying boat service without having the opportunity to use it. We fully intend to keep adventuring (mvdirona.com) and it's hard to equal the freedom of a private boat so we'll likely be back.
Amazing! I boated around Amsterdam for over 15 years but never spotted a US flag on a private ship. (There was a US navy ship once) compliments for the boating skills and the very beautiful ship!
Thanks for the feedback. We had an excellent time in Amsterdam.
Wow, I have watched all your videos since you first got the boat. You two have sure turned into real “salts” and can really handle you little ship. Looking forward to future videos.
Thanks for the feedback Chuck.
Thank you for the tour and another outstanding video. Almost like being there.
Thanks David.
Excellent, très instructif ! ...et bien monté.
Thanks!
I know the route very well, it’s great. Greetings from Holland 🇳🇱
It's a really different from what we are used to and so it was a real treat for us. A really fun trip.
They may have enjoyed entering at Terneuzen and travelling along the canal to Antwerp, more to see and better stopping places.
Beautiful footage !As a Dutchman living in Spain I enjoyed this nautical tour of my homecountry very much!Many thanks.
Your home country is beautiful. We really enjoyed our time in the Netherlands and have somehow managed to visit 3 times in 3 years even though we normally make an effort to focus on new areas to explore.
A bit more than a week back, we were on our way to France and Spain but decided to divert to the UK to give countries time to battle down SARS-COV-2. The Spanish medical system looks to be under a lot of pressure right now. I hope things settle down quickly where you are.
It always amazes me to watch how simply you make navigating new water look. You must spend countless hour in your trip plan. Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures. Watching from the Florida keys.
We don't normally spent much time from a planning perspective -- just draw a course on the charts that we want to follow. But, your're right that on this one there was a bit more to check upon since each bridge and lock has to be looked up for opening restrictions and contact information
Great Job, James and Jennifer. The skippering and the video! Looking forward to your Med adventures. Fair winds from m.y. Liberty.
Thanks! All the best to you and Annemarie.
I love your narration, it allows me to follow along on google earth.
Thanks. We appreciate the feedback.
(1) Kudos from me, too, regarding your sailing capabilities! (And thanks to TH-cam for recommending this video to me.) (2) Many of the waterways you call "canals" aren't cut or dug out, but rather "left out". The marina where this episode started would be approximately on the beach of the IJ estuary, sea to the east, but in Roman times the river IJ would turn north opposite Haarlem and meet the sea near Castricum. The Noordzeekanaal was excluded from reclaiming this estuary, meeting a short cut through the dunes at Velsen/IJmuiden. The rivers Liede and Spaarne that led you in and out of Haarlem drained the marshlands right behind the dunes. The Ringvaart (of the Haarlemmermeerpolder) past the Cruquius museum was exempted from being pumped dry, in order to have "outboard water" to empty the polder into. Many waterways in Holland (the two provinces often lending their name to the whole of the Netherlands) originated as drains from the moors. As a result of the water loss and of harvesting the peat, the land surface may have dropped several meters. Like where you mentioned that the canal was several meters above ground level. The river Oude Rijn (running through Leiden and Alphen aan den Rijn) used to be the main flow of the river Rhine to sea, and constituted the "limen" the border of the Roman Empire in these parts. The city of Utrecht started as a spot for crossing this river. Zeeland ("Old Zealand" for those Down Under) used to be a composite of many shifting islands and sand banks. During the course of time, the river Schelde had its two main flows turn from going north to going west - keeping their now strange names Wester- and Oosterschelde when you would consider them (in Dutch) Zuider- and Noorderschelde. (3) On bridges: bridges spanning the main Dutch barge routes may allow barges carrying three or four levels of sea containers - some 9.2 metres high. The opening time slots for railway bridges may be rather short and sparse, due to frequent train services with connections scheduled. (4) You seem westbound now. For a next time, I could recommend the Belgian canals connecting the hinterland like Charleroi and Liège with Antwerp. Or the inland waterways into France, if Dirona's draft matches the current state of these canals. I have watched some videos here on TH-cam.
Thanks for all the information. Generally, "land" and "canal" or even "river" are somewhat harder to define in the Netherlands where mass engineering projects like the Delta Works make big changes and around 15% of the "land" is actually below sea level :-).
Fantastic. Thanks so much for this!
We appreciate the feedback on the video.
Great being able follow along. Looking forward to seeing your further travels. Safe cruising from Eric and Jody
Great hearing from you both again. Since you visited, we've been having a great time. We really enjoy Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole.
good on you guys , Fantastic video well done stay safe and enjoy look forward to many more of your adventures
Thanks Brayden.
5 gold stars for clean maneuvering out of that tight slip and marina ! i felt my BP shoot up just watching it !
If it weren't for the wind that day, it wouldn't be a difficult location to leave. It just takes patience and a bit of care. But, with gusts to 25 and winds swirling around the buildings in the area, it does require more care.
Beautifull trip from Amsterdam to Antwerpen. The first part to Dordrecht I have done this in the past without lowering the mast and a lot of boats behind us. It is funny to see all the familiair places seen throughout different eyes. Please, go on and make more of those splendid video’s.
I wish we could get better at bringing these video together. We enjoy the outcome but they end up taking what seems like way too much time to produce. Thanks for the feedback.
What a cool video! Thanks for sharing your trip.
Thanks for the feedback on the video.
Loved the video. And as always be safe n be happy.
Thanks for the feedback on the video.
The ship in front at 34:22 named Zulu was my brother and I've made the brown lines at the wall you lay against in the Kattendijkdok. And now I see you on TH-cam, the world can be small.
That's great that we saw your brother and his boat underway. Looking back at the video I see the lines you made at Kattendijkdok for small boat moorage. Even though when we cruise the world, it feels very big indeed and we have seen a wide range of different things, there are times when the world seems small indeed.
Thanks for another great video, which gave me great ideas for the coming summer season, when we wanted to take our boat down the Rhine from the Frankfurt area to The Netherlands anyway. Looks like Haarlem and Leiden is an absolute must, besides Amsterdam obviously.
Our boat isn't ideal for river cruising with a 2.1M draft and needing 9.1M of bridge clearance so we ended up deciding to do Basel to Amsterdam via Frankfurt in a riverboat (Amamora). You are going to love your trip on the Rhine. It's an amazing trip and it would be even better in your own boat with total control on schedule. Enjoy your trip and thanks for the feedback on the video.
If you still aren’t done with viewing 17-th century city centers after Haarlem and Leiden, stop at Gouda (yup, from the cheese) and Dordrecht. Another tip is the Biesbosch nature reserve near Dordrecht, although that is probably better outside winter. Final tip: great restaurant/hotel on the corner of the Oude Rijn, between Leiden and Alphen aan den Rijn. If you eat there, you can moor on their riverside dock. Named after the bridge: ‘s Molenaarsbrug (the Miller’s bridge) (I got married there, so may have small bias!)
Thanks for the travel recommendations Kees.
Thank you for posting such a wonderful video. From the great seamanship of exiting that berth through to the end of the video I was spellbound. I would love to have the skills of you guys to follow in your footsteps. I can’t wait for the next one.
The video did take some time so it's great to hear that some found it enjoyable. We appreciate the feedback.
MV Dirona I guessed it took a long time and I am sure every viewer appreciates it. Good luck with your travels under the current circumstances.
Thanks!
This is life. 😎😍
We have to admit it was a pretty incredible trip even though I kept working during the trip. That slowed us down and made fitting everything in more challenging but, as you said, no complaints from us.
Forgot to say love your videos
Thanks for the feedback on our videos.
Was impressed with the quality of the voice-over, good job. Enjoyed the 4 camera view, and woundered how you kept your sanity on a 52 for such an extended journey. I previously owned a 53 and only traveled the great lakes CANADIAN SIDE. Have purchased a 50-meter yacht and don"t think that I would consider such a journey, will stick to the Caribbean. KUDOs TO YOU.
Thanks for the feedback on the voice over and the 4-cam view. We like the 4 cam view but worried it might just be too much data for some viewers. I love it because it shows so much detail.
We hope to one day cruise the great lakes so we may someday end up in your area.
Fantastic boat handling at the start. That would have given me a nervous breakdown in my much smaller boat! The latter half of your trip - Zeeland - is my cruising ground, lovely area. Super video, thanks for posting.
The first part had my attention as well. You can't really tell from looking at the flag (perhaps because it's sheltered at the back of the boat) but the wind is gusting to 25 kts. With a boat with a lot of topsides, you can really feel the impact of the wind so I was being particularly careful on this one.
The time in Amsterdam City Marina was excellent. That location is very difficult to equal. The canal trip through Zeeland was wonderful. It's not that common that we cruise inland since we draw 2.1M and need 9.1M of air draft so that trip was a particularly novel experience for us. We really enjoyed it.
Were you in a rush to get through? There are some lovely places to stop around Zeeland if you had more time to potter (Veere, Zierikzee, Willemstad etc etc). I have a sailing boat so also have height and depth restrictions but you can still get to some super spots.
The cool thing about around the world trip is we have seen a lot of the world. Hawaii, Tonga, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, and many more. But the downside is we are only in each country for weeks or months rather than years so locals like yourself will often dig deeper and see more. We try to hit the right middle ground (for us) and don't rush but also don't feel like we have to see every possible site.
Without a doubt we could return to any country we have visited and sped another year there and still be finding more great places to boat. Thanks for your recommendations for our next trip to the Netherlands.
That was a pretty tight Maria you did a great job. That sailboat directly behind you when you were pulling out was a very nice boat.
Yes, the sailboat behind us is very nice and, at 20m, it's a lot of boat. Even more if you include bowsprit and tender. I suspect he must have had to work quite hard to get the boat in there.
Looks like a Puffin by Olivier van Meer: www.oliviervanmeer.com/fleet/puffin/
Hey Kees! Yes, you are right it is a Puffin. Nice boat.
Hi James and Jennifer! We just discovered your youtube channel and loving it!
Seems we were together in the port of Antwerp. We came in a day after you while it was snowing in the afternoon. We saw your great looking boat but had no idea... Next time we will come and say hello.
Keep the videos coming, much appreciated.
Greetings from MV Ithaka.
Antwerp was a great home base. We really enjoyed our time there and hope you are as well. We're currently in Stornoway Scotland which is very different but, again, an excellent location.
Thanks for saying hi.
Finally moving again...good to see your videos again.
Yeah, I hear you on the "finally" part -- our Amsterdam stop was a long one. But, City Marina in Amsterdam is an amazing place to call home. Right in the center of the city , 10 min from the rail station, 40 min from an excellent airport, great restaurants, museums, and lots to see.
MV Dirona ...how are you guys ? Where are u allowed to dock in these challenging times?
Many parts of Europe have their marinas closed to recreational traffic. Inland recreational traffic is reportedly closed in the UK. I suspect the country could close the marinas soon and it may have already happened in some areas.
We don't need to or intend to go to a marina for the foreseeable future so it's not yet a factor for us.
Very nice vlog. We were at the Houtdok two weeks ago. Too bad we didn’t have a closer look at the marina, we would for sure have spotted your Nordhavn. We live on our barge in the South of The Netherlands, moored on a side branch of the river Maas. Enjoy the rest of your European cruising adventures....!
You live in a great area and we really have been enjoying the European part of our cruise.
Tight quarters! Nicely done, skipper.
Without wind and current, it's really not bad at all. You just need to be patient and keep things moving slowly. But, in winds, especially the gusty winds we saw when leaving Amsterdam it does get to be more work.
Thank you for a great video of your trip.
Thanks for the feedback on the video.
Hello Guys! I want to say Thank You for posting your videos. I like Nordhavn Yachts also and I play with my Nordhavn on FSX computer game and sail around on their world map. Could you make a 30 mins+ video next time at normal video speed showing you just cruising around? It looks so good on my large screen TV and feels like I am on the boat with you guys. Thanks.
This video is pretty close to what you are looking for: th-cam.com/video/fPoSMYSadVU/w-d-xo.html.
When you get a chance to do the great lakes make sure that you do the Trent - Severn Waterway in Ontario.
285 miles of canals, lakes, & 45 locks. Absolutely breathtaking scenery, clear, calm pristine water.
Expect to take a week to travel one end to the other, with lots of towns to shop & eat.
Do a little research and check bridge heights, as you have a high mast. What I had to do was hinge my mast so it could drop down.
On TH-cam, if you see " boating with boogaboo" ( believe that correct name) they have done some great videos in that area.
Again enjoy your trip, will look forward to seeing some more of your videos.
Thanks for passing along recommendations.
We remember the area from the 10 years we lived in Toronto. The bad news is that we draw too much water for passage on the Trent-Severn but the good news is we have already cruised it in a charter boat many years back. GREAT!
interesting video
Great video. Thank you for sharing it with us...
Thanks for the feedback on the video.
Lovely video. I guess you now realize why most inland recreational boats in NL are lower in air draught and a bit shallower!
Yes, our boat is a long range cruiser so somewhat out of it's realm in the inland waterways but we really enjoyed ourselves.
Just amazing footage! You two are just awesome! The quarters leaving the dock in the beginning of this video was so tight I held my breath. Just amazing!! Stay safe and enjoy life!! Thanks for taking us along.
I held my breath too. Nothing better than operating in close quarters with gusts to 25 kts :-).
What a coincedence my wife and I stayed in the ijdock marina on one of those small yachts out there. You were moored there as well. Most of the small yachts in the ijdock are rented out on AirBnB. Really nice vlog, guys! I saw you in Haarlem and Leiden the other day again. I live around the area of Leiden and my wife works in Haarlem hence I spotted you.
You and your wife live in a wonderful area and the City Marina is a hard to beat location as well. Thanks for the feedback on the videos.
Great video, thanks. We have done a bit of inland boating and used to recon on about 4mph and covering distance would count a lock as another mile when estimating journey time.
Yeah, that seems about right. But we weren't in a rush and really enjoyed the trip. We'll have to do do more river and canal boat cruising in the future.
i loved this video ,just dont see this kind of timelapse passage,what a historic and intresting part of the world to be sailing through ,yous are a great team captain Jennifer sure keeps first officer James on the straight and narrow no bumps and scrapes here
We had a great trip and there may come a time when we get a boat that draws a bit less and can operate with less bridge clearance and do summer in rivers and canals. Each time we spend some time inland, we really enjoy it. This trip was especially interesting.
Very nice video. I live in the Netherlands in the city of Waddinxveen. You were passing through my city. I live close to “de Hefbrug” in Waddinxveen.
You live in a nice area. We have really enjoyed our time in the Netherlands and the inland trip south was an excellent experience for us.
Wow - that’s tight
It is tight but this Canal trip is even tighter and also was a lot of fun: th-cam.com/video/3n6BHvWtHjA/w-d-xo.html.
As much as I admire you for having the courage to travel on a boat, it seems that you took a great risk of scraping the sides to your vessel, trying to navigate through all these dangerous locks. On another note, I loved the beautiful job you did of replacing engine head on your generator.
Thanks for the feedback on the videos. Your right there is some risk to the boat when operating in close quarters but, as long as the person at the helm is patient and careful and winds are moderate, the risk isn't high. We use fenders that allows us to brush up against the sides without risk of damage to the boat. More on the fenders here if you are interested: mvdirona.com/2018/02/fendering-take-three/.
Looks like Costco parking lot any day of the week, good job leaving the marina!!
Amsterdam City Marina is really well located and a wonderful place to call home but they are very busy and do pack the boats in.
Great video! FYI at 9:45 the church "St Bavo" houses one of the most spectacular pipe organs in the world. In fact, Mozart played this organ declaring it "King of instruments".
Kind of cool. Cruising Europe is amazing. There is just so much amazing history in such close proximity.
At 33:54 notice on the left bank the renewed Pilot House (or Loodsgebouw) of the City of Antwerp.
Yes, we went to visit the building while we were in Antwerp. It's a beautiful facility.
You past our village Krimpen aan den IJssel , with the storm barier in the river Hollandse IJssel . Greetings from the Netherlands
That's a nice place to live. We really enjoyed our trip.
@@MVDirona did you visit the 19 Unesco windmills at Kinderdijk ? You past them on the river Noord .
No, we didn't stop and tour the windmills and Kinderdijk. We did spend a day enjoying Dutch windmills in Zaanse Schanse (mvdirona.com/2019/03/zaanse-schans/).
Really nice skippering from the dock.
Thanks. As long as the wind or current isn't strong, patience is all that is required.
Thank you for the great video .... I was so surprised to suddenly realise that I have been walking past Dirona in the IJ dok (I live only a few yards passed the traffic lights 😃😃) Marina almost every day on my way to the station and seeing you, but not realising it was you 🤪🤪 I actually believe you see me walking on the quay when you are manoeuvring out of the Marina (it is ridiculously tight there). Have a great trip
You have chosen a great place to live! We spent 4 months there in 2018/2019 and liked it so much we went back to the Amsterdam City Marina for another 3 months in 2019/2020. It's a a wonderful location.
MV Dirona Thank you so much, it is indeed a fantastic location: close to the water, just outside the crowded city street and close to the station (who am I telling, you know 😃😃) In hindsight i have walked passed wondering if it was the same boat as the previous winter ... I should have checked more closely! I have never taken the Haarlem route down south (always the Amsterdam one at night) so was great to see it, thank you
It was a super fun trip and we were glad not to be offshore with winds gusting in the mid 20 kt range much of the time and often up over 30 kts.
Thanks for sharing. 😊
Thanks.
There is a "Real Skipper" on board!
Thanks for the feedback. It was a really fun trip.
I bought my first barge in Haarlem in 1979.
The Dutch definitely know how to make barges and they are popular live aboard choices throughout Europe. Even St. Katherine dock in downtown London is full of Dutch Barges.
unbelievable how the nordhavn can be steered in this really small place!!!
Without current or wind, it's pretty easy and slow and patient will never let you down. In higher winds and currents, much more forethought is required and more experience helps. But, generally, the boat is not challenging to manage as long as you keep in mind that it's 55 tons and it won't change directions fast.
@@MVDirona i saw your video of scotland after that. That's pretty much what i'm looking for. I grew up in a much smaller boat and i'm searching for a boat which is comfortable at Sea but i want to get into some canals too. The the exhaust/instrument mast couldn't be layed down isn't it?
Technically yes, the exhaust instrument mast can be laid down onto the boat deck but it's a big enough task that we have never done it. It requires a crane, the exhaust has to be unbolted, there needs to be large enough service loops on the wires, etc. Technically possible and part of our specifications to be able to do it but, thus far, we haven't done it.
Very nice video and very informative !!
Thanks!
Great video. I wish you visited the harbour of Delfzijl before you went to Amsterdam. I would have come over to take some pictures of the Dirona ( i live closeby Delfzijl and i follow you on Vessel Finder).
I wish you would put up more videos. Like each week or so.
I think you two are fantastic and i really enjoy following your journey.
Greetings from the Netherlands 👋
We are super inefficient in producing a video. Believe it or not, this one took 2 1/2 days. So, unless we get much more skilled and efficient at their production, our posting rate will stay modest. We do enjoy the result so, if we can find a way to do a video more efficiently, we''ll do more of them.
Enjoyed that.Thankyou🇩🇰
It was a fun trip for us as well. Lots to see, lots of action, and overall, very enjoyable.
I live in St Louis MO, and I enjoy watching the traffic go by on the river. Have you ever considered making that trip? Lock free from here south to New orleans but a number of locks here North!
Of course I am referring to the Mississippi River
We would love to do it but, to make it through Chicago the boat needs to fit below 19' 1" which makes the trip hard to do in our current boat. Technically the stack can be folded over but it's a massive amount of work. If we did decide to do the trip, we might have to use a different boat for that trip. But, no question, we would like to do it once we return from Europe.
nicely maneuvered!
Thanks.
Another great video and useful too, as I will be doing the route in reverse this summer. Thank you.
Thanks for the feedback.
Wow such skill!
As long as there isn't current or wind, patience is all it takes. As the conditions worsen, more skill is required.
It would be great if you can make a interactive Nordhavn Yacht video game from all of your videos for us Nordhavn lovers to play with. I will buy them! If I ever get rich, this will be the kind of yacht I will buy.
Nordhavn is unusually good at marketing so they may follow up on your idea of making a video game.
A good video so far.Some more pictures of the inside and outside would be good.
Thanks.
So nice riding along on your trip throug the Dutch villages! And I feel a bit ashamed that you know more about the Specials than I do... 😳 Hugs for my black friend!
Thanks and Spitfire but appreciate the hug but he is sleeping. He's claiming to be tired from crossing over to the UK last night but we're not sure we believe him. He spent approximately zero minutes at the helm and he's always asleep in the middle of the day. Most of his action is in the mornings and the evenings.
Monique, so nice to hear from you. Spitfire is doing really well and misses your great care and attention.
Jennifer
Does Dirona or the commercial barges have bow or stern thrusters? Impressive maneuvering thru the canals.
Almost all of the commercial traffic is equipped with large bow thrusters and twin engines rudders. Dirona is single engine and has has far less power but is equipped with both bow and stern thrusters.
Excellent vid ya'll.
We appreciate the feedback on the video.
Thank you so much for taking us along on this journey to Antwerp. Most enjoyable. NOTE: I noticed when you had the four camera view up, that your bow camera has the wrong time. It is 1 hour behind all the other cameras. I know, it's nitpicking, but like James, I spent 52 years in the I.T. business and notice little details.
Thanks again and please keep these mobile journals coming.
Dirona is so long, the bow and stern are in different time zones. ;-)
@@kenwilliams5839 Oh yea, look who's talking: Sans Souci was 68+feet
I bet you can't wait for the new Grand Banks.
Awesome Ken!!!
LOL...different Ken Williams here. My boat is a humble little Ranger Tug R31S.
The Ranger might be one of the best boat designs on the planet. Incredible space utilization. We thought it might be a fun boat in which to do the great loop.
its pitty everything is closed with the covid virus, but you can visit the small town of Doel . a Ghost town with lots of nice spot with modern art gravity.
I live in a small town in the Netherlands (axel) 805 years old . and a nice museum of the second world war and the liberation with polish soldiers.
Thanks for the travel advice. Some of the best spots we have been to around the world have been recommended by blog readers (mvdirona.com) or youtube viewers living in the area. We appreciate it.
Nice Trip! Tx for posting...
Thanks for the feedback -- it was a fun trip.
I bet you guys enjoyed it... I would! What are your plans? Are you coming back to Germany?
We're planning to head south to the Med at this point. The only firm part of the plan at this point is we'll be in Genoa for a month in July.
@@MVDirona thats a nice trip! I just would have loved to see Dirona in the Ships elevator in Niederfinow/Germany...
That does look pretty cool. We did a trip through the Falkirk Wheel (mvdirona.com/2017/09/falkirk-wheel/) which is similar in function but on that trip we rode through on a canal boat rather than with Dirona. Our boat is too tall to fit on the wheel and we're a bit borderline for the Oder-Havel canal which supports a max draft of 6'6" and we draw 6'7". The elevator looks amazing though and we would love to take a trip through it.
Yep, that was some tight dockage there. The downside of having a larger boat. Well done.
It would be useful if you included the link for your website in the description of the video.
In some locations, we are by far the largest boat. In others locations, we are among the smallest. But, nothing makes it feel big faster than working out of a tight spot like the one we spent our winter in at Amsterdam City Marina.
Nice video well done
Thanks Brad.
How often does MVDIRONA need fuel or basic preventive maintenance, Or drydock work?
It has a steady low level of work required throughout the year like scheduled oil changes and other minor items like that. It comes out of the water roughly once every 2 years for bottom paint and out of the water maintenance work. We're currently at 2 years since it was last out of the water so will need to schedule something soon.
Great Video. A few questions-do you have to pay a fee of some sort to travel the canal?. Also, is there a central communication center that you can contact to schedule the bridge opening s, or is it on a case by case basis?
Good questions. There is no fee to use the canal system but there was a transit fee to pass through the city of Haarlem. Unfortunately, there is no central authority so bridges need to be contacted separately. In the summer season it's not necessary to contact the bridges in advance but some have time periods where they won't open (rush hour) and some only bring boats through in convoys to reduce the number of openings. In the winter season, many of the bridges must be contacted to get someone out to the bridge when you need the opening so a bit of research is required prior to the trip.
Is dirona large for these camels? Would you do it in a 60 or 63 ? Or even a 64? Did you ever get the..why do you bring such a large boat here for?
We brought the only boat we have on the canal trip so that's an easy answer. Would we do the trip if we had a 60, 63, or 64? Yes, probably although a 64 is getting close to as much as you can fit through there.
Silly question, are you only running the wing engine for getting out of the marina and cruising on the canals? Thank you
The wing is used for two purposes: 1) as an emergency backup engine in case the single primary engine fails, and 2) to drive the hydraulic systems. The first use will never happen in most boats. The latter use is very common which has the upside of ensuring that the wing engine is ready to run and well maintained in case it is needed as an emergency engine.
In the second use case, the wing engine runs the hydraulic system which powers the stabilizers, forward thrusters, aft thruster, windlass and emergency high-volume bilge pump. Both the wing and the main engine can drive all these devices equally well but, in close quarters the boat is mostly moving slowly and so the main engine is idling and, when idling, it does fully power the hydraulic system. Since thrusters are typically only used in close quarters, we run the wing engine whenever in close quarters situations so the thrusters are available at full power. For the same reason when anchoring or hoisting anchor, the boat isn't moving so we run the wing engine to drive the windlass.
What all that means is the wing engine always runs at the start and the end of every trip whether anchoring or docking and sometimes at points in between (e.g. passing through locks).
@@MVDirona Thank you so very much. Be safe and be well.
You have been lucky. This is close to the corona crisis outbreak.
When I think of of the virus outbreak I think of China or, when focusing on Europe, I think of Italy rather than Belgium. But you are right that the Belgium medical system is currently under enormous pressure from the current case loads. A lot can change in a week. When we were there it was hardly an issue and yet now the entire country is in lock down.
The Netherlands also has a serious COVID-19 case load problem. It's happening at different rates through Europe with Italy and Spain on the early side but all countries are seriously impacted.
Hopefully this will pass swiftly.
Mamma mia, that was one TIGHT slip area, even out in the fairway.
Yeah, it's true. Even the fairway was fairly tight. We didn't have much space between us and the sailboat behind us and the catamaran partway down the fairway as we completed our turn.
? Are nordhavn engine noise normally loud inside the living spaces...
No, Nordhavn's are quiet underway. I'm not sure why but waves look smaller on video and engines sound louder. I know that sounds silly but it's really the case. On sound levels, recommend you get on Nordhavn to make the assessment yourself. In my opinion, they are pretty quiet.
Great Video of navigating through the beautiful canals! Did you always tie down alongside the locks or did you just use your bow thrusters to hold tight against the lock? I noticed a patrol boat behind you used a bow line and adjusted the line as the water dipped. Also, would simple bowline knot work to secure the boat to the tie down?
Thanks for the feedback on the video. Yes you are right we normally only use a single rope to tie off when in locks and then make adjustments on engine and thrusters. It's an easy way to handle things with only two people. In one of the early locks, the exchange was so little that they had the outgoing door open before we had even got a single line on so, in that one, we never tied off at all.
Mostly we use a single line but occasionally we use two and the boat is far more stable on two.
You need a 360 cam right in the center of the boat :)
Your right but what we use instead are 6 cameras: 1) forward, 2) back, 3) near left, 4) far left, 5) near right, and 6) far right. The near left and right are used primarily for security and we just added the far left and right cameras earlier this year. The really add to the perspectives available and we leave 4 of the all round cameras showing in the boat all the time.
@@MVDirona Oh you guys did a great job with the cameras. It looks great. I loved the video. I made sure I subbed. I cant wait to see more
Thanks Joe.
Great Video! The Willemdok can be a great place in summer with good weather and people and places all around (MAS, Red star line, good restaurants and bars along the Schelde)...Were you still there when they anounced the "first" lockdown or did you leave in time? Hopefully it wasn't too bad.
Willemdok was GREAT. We just loved the location. It's a slight hassle getting in through bridges and locks and but it's a great marina in an even better location. We left before the lockdown and, when we where last there, SARS-CoV-2 seemed distant to most, not really an issue, all restaurants and shops were open, and there wasn't much concern. It was a very different time even though it was only a couple of weeks back.
what dosae the flag on the bow stands for? is it like a boat glub or smt i want to know.
That flag is from the Seven Seas Cruising Association. They describe themselves as: "...the oldest and largest worldwide organization supporting the liveaboard cruising lifestyle. "
Hello i follow you 2 some time now and you past my house so close and i life along the river nieuwe maas at Ridderkerk if i had know you passing i sure have taken some pictures maby next time hihi :)
That's kind of cool that we went past your house. We really enjoyed the trip. So much history and so much to see.
Loved the four camera view, I hope to make it to the Netherlands sometime in the next few years.
Thanks for the feedback on the 4 camera view. It's makes for a busy screen on replay but there is a lot of information there and you can really see what is going on.
Hi, very interesting videos you’ve created. Are there any apps you use to travel to these far destinations you can recommend?
For apps, we use windy for weather (windy.com) and Navionic for charts (webapp.navionics.com/). Specific to this trip we used this app to get bridge and lock information: waterkaarten.app/en/ .
Hope some day you come to South america
We're looking forward to it.
So Please let me know, i Will do my best to help you here in Brazil.
Do you know the max beam for those canals? I looked several places online, mostly shows max height.
We didn't find a max beam reference but one book describing the route we took and many smaller canals said that "you will have no trouble at less than 5m." On the route we took, it's frequented by many fairly large commercial barges so it's not a problem for smaller recreational craft.
With some digging, you can find dimensional specs on all bridges and locks and all European canals are classified by max dimensions for commercial boats: www.canals.com/size.htm.
@@MVDirona Thank you very much and loved the video.
Thanks for the feedback!
Is hard to say, I live in the area of Amsterdam/Haarlem. One safe measure is that height is below 2,45m you can pass a lot of bridges without opening.
I want to congratulate you, you have had a fantastic trip I just wonder, what brand you have motor yacht, what size and what was fuel consumption per NM? Greetings from Sweden
It's a Nordhavn 52 and all the data on it is here: nordhavn.com/models/n52/.
The vessel on your starboard bow on arrival in the Willemdok in Antwerp ought to be mine! What is she?
Just discovered your channel. Coronavirus having killed my work, I look forward to catching up with all your adventures.
It's a clean and well maintained boat but I didn't notice what it was.
Hopefully the virus will clear relatively quickly and things will return to normal soon.
Missing the sounds of the wind and water
Yes, it's true. The problem is that the sound picked up the cameras is largely just harsh wind noise since it's fairly windy on this trip. And, since the boat is moving slowly, there isn't much sound of water flow. What professional video crews often do is use remote mics but that's just too much work. We're actually on a trip and enjoying a trip rather than shooting a video.
Also the front camera takes abusive waves and, as a consequence, it's no longer able to record sound. I could and probably should replace it.
I hear your advice and there probably are ways to integrate some of the sounds the cameras pick up to make it more interesting. We'll work on it -- thanks for the feedback.
There were some tight fits in this video. Whew!
Yes, the Amsterdam spot was particularly tight on exit mostly due to the gusty wind conditions that day. But watching the large commercial boat operators that work the rivers and canals in area quickly brings back humility. They REALLY are surgeons with up to 450' long vessels working in tight quarters and sometimes with wind and current.
Love "ridin'" along on your trip, yet the high speed stuff is very hard to watch. You cannot focus on what is happening. Editing the normal speed recordings to show, for example, the multiple boats cramming into the lock. Keep recording. It is hard to find good documentaries on powered yacht travels. You and the Fleming series are some of the best.
I think there is an application to using a high speed scan to jump from an interesting section through an uninteresting section to another uninteresting section but it should be used sparingly and, generally, just making cuts is a better solution. It takes a bit more time to do but it's a better solution. Thanks for the feedback.